Lusa - Business News - Portugal: Test kits for HIV and hepatitis B, C to be sold in pharmacies

Lisbon, Sep. 13 (Lusa) – Kits to test for HIV and hepatitis B and C will be allowed to be sold in Portugal's pharmacies under new legislation approved by the government on Thursday.
The legislation, approved by the cabinet at its regular weekly meeting, means that over-the-counter self-testing kits will be made available to the public without the need for a prescription. The kits are also highly reliable, the goverment said in a statement that quoted the cabinet office minister, Maria Manuel Leitão Marques.
She did not, however, reveal how much they would cost.
According to the statement, the aim of the kits is to “make Portugal into a country free of an epidemic” of the HIV virus by 2030, and to lower the number of late diagnoses.
The measure is based on recommendations from the United Nations and World Health Organisation, following the lead of countries such as Spain, France, Belgium and Italy, the statement said.